1 Now when Jacob saw that there was food in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why are ye looking upon one another? 2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is food in Egypt; go down there and buy for us from there that we may live, and not die. 3 And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy wheat in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure disaster befall him. 5 And the sons of Israel came to buy among those that came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6 And Joseph was the lord over the land, and he it was that sold the wheat to all the people of the land; and Joseph’s brethren came and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. 7 And when Joseph saw his brethren, he knew them, but made himself strange unto them and spoke roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Where have you come from? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. 8 And Joseph knew his brethren but they did not know him. 9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. 10 And they said unto him, No, my lord, but to buy food are thy slaves come. 11 We are all one man’s sons; we are men of the truth, thy slaves have never been spies.
12 And he said unto them, No, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. 13 And they said, Thy slaves are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. 14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that which I spoke unto you, saying, Ye are spies: 15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth from here unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you and let him bring your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison that your words may be proved, whether there is any truth in you; or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. 17 And he put them all together into prison for three days.
18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, Do this and live, for I fear God. 19 If ye are men of the truth, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison; go ye, carry food for the famine of your houses 20 but bring your youngest brother unto me, so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. 21 And they said one to another, We are truly guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. 22 Then Reuben answered them, saying, Did I not speak unto you, saying, Do not sin against the young man, and ye would not hear? Therefore, behold, his blood is also required. 23 And they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke unto them by an interpreter. 24 And he turned himself about from them and wept and returned to them again and spoke with them and took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with wheat and to restore each man’s money into his sack and to give them provisions for the way; and thus it was done unto them.
26 And they laded their asses with the wheat and departed from there. 27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass fodder in the inn, he saw his money; for, behold, it was in his sack’s mouth. 28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, behold, it is even in my sack. And their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God has done unto us?
29 And they came unto Jacob, their father, unto the land of Canaan and told him all that had befallen them, saying, 30 The man, who is the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us for spies of the country. 31 And we said unto him, We are men of the truth; we have never been spies. 32 We are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. 33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby I shall know that ye are men of the truth; leave one of your brethren here with me and take food for the famine of your households and go 34 and bring your youngest brother unto me; then I shall know that ye are not spies, but that ye are men of the truth; thus I will deliver you your brother, and ye shall trade in the land.
35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. 36 And Jacob, their father, said unto them, Ye have bereaved me of my sons: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away; all these things are upon me. 37 And Reuben spoke unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I do not bring him to thee; deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. 38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left; if some disaster should befall him by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring my gray hairs with sorrow down to Sheol.